Titanium
by Veronica Pevensie
Summary: Avery Stark is the daughter of Pepper Stark nee Potts and Tony Stark... and she's hiding the biggest secret ever. Along with her best friend, Peter Parker, will Avery be able to save the world and keep her secret at the same time? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

TITANIUM: PROLOGUE

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Avengers or Spiderman.**

"Avery!" Avery could hardly breathe. Every breath she took burned her throat, and everything hurt. She felt her father's iron hand push her hair behind her ear.

"Hang in there, Avery!" Peter commanded. He held her hand tightly. "This might hurt."

Pain ripped through her side as someone pulled out the glass. She couldn't feel her legs, she realized. She also realized that she was being lifted and her aunts and uncles were trying to reassure her that it would be alright.

_Hang on, Avery! Come on, you need to pull yourself out of it! If you don't, SHIELD will do tests on you, and you don't want to be involved with SHIELD. _

_**I know, I know; it's just so hard…. **_

****_I know it is, but you can do it. Just keep breathing._

Then, everything went black.

/-/

"Half-cat?!" Tony Stark was incredulous as Peter Parker told him that Avery was a cat hybrid. It wasn't exactly impossible; after all, Peter was a spider hybrid….

"Tony, SHIELD wants to do tests on Avery's DNA." Pepper informed him. Tony turned to the doctor beside her.

"You will _not_ do tests on my daughter. She is a human being, not one of your test victims." Tony snapped.

"A-Alright; Mr. Parker-"

"No." Peter's voice was flat. The doctor sighed in defeat and left. Tony sank into his seat.

"She's awake," Bruce said as he emerged from Avery's room. Tony jumped to his feet.

"Can we see her?" Pepper asked. Bruce nodded and Pepper and Tony went into the room.

Avery was sitting up in bed. She was still slightly pale, but she was smiling.

"Hi, Mom. Hey, Dad." Tony and Pepper sat down next to her bed.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Pepper asked. Avery shrugged.

"I'm alright,"

"Is there something wrong?"

"No… it's just… am I in trouble?" Avery asked. Pepper sighed.

"Your father and I haven't discussed it yet." Avery nodded.

"How did this all start, Avery?" Tony finally asked. Avery looked down.

"It's a pretty long story."

"Tell us,"

"Well, it all began three years ago…."


	2. Chapter One

TITANIUM: CHAPTER ONE: AVERY

**A/N: I'm writing this in Avery's Point of View, because she's telling the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Avengers or Spiderman.**

The Daily Bugle- it could only be described as a newspaper that constantly had me plastered all over it. Well, at least, I knew it was me. No one else did.

I guess I'd better describe what happened three years before, first. I had discovered something incredible (namely, I was half-human and half-cat; a Felis) and I had used this incredible thing to become a superhero and save the world from a sect of lunatics who were trying to set off a bomb that would blow up the world.

_"A bomb?! Avery, are you crazy?!" Tony was shocked. Avery shook her head._

_ "It wouldn't have worked anyway, Dad. I just had to fight the men." Avery reassured him. Tony sat back and sighed._

After that, I was on the front page of The Daily Bugle whenever I got into a fight.

And then along came Spiderman. I was quite glad when he showed up on the scene, as he was taking my spot on the front page. However, I soon became quite irritated with the guy. He was stealing all of my fights!

I finally came up with a plan to confront him. I noticed that he always came out at night (like me) so I patrolled the area, looking for him.

And that's where the adventure begins.

/-/

I crouched on the rooftop of a nightclub, waiting to confront Spiderman. As I waited, I saw my best friend, Peter Parker, head down an alley.

_How stupid is he?!_ I thought. _He's going to get mugged!_

I dropped down to the ground soundlessly and walked down the alley. That's when I saw Peter- in the Spiderman suit. He wasn't wearing his mask.

"Peter?" I asked. He turned quickly, his arm held up. I took off my mask. "Relax, Pete, it's just me." Peter's arm dropped to his side.

"Avery? You're The Cat?"

"Yeah. And I don't even have to ask if you're Spiderman." I responded. He smiled nervously. "Oh, by the way, awesome job with The Lizard last month."

"Great job with the lunatics." He shot back.

"So… this is going to sound super weird but… you want to crime-fight together?" I asked, pulling on my mask.

"Sure," Peter pulled on his mask and shot a line of webbing at a wall.

"Let's do this."


	3. Chapter Two: Trouble

TITANIUM: CHAPTER TWO: AVERY

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers or Spiderman.**

_Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!_ I rolled over in bed and slammed my hand down on my alarm clock, muttering curses to whoever invented it.

"It's time to wake up!" Peter said as he shook me.

"Come on, Pete, it's Saturday, and besides, we were crime-fighting all night!" I protested as he pulled my arm. "How did you get in here anyway?"

"Your mom called me; she wanted me to wake you up. Come on, we need to talk about last night!" Peter urged. I groaned and stood up.

"Fine," I said. "Now, get out, I have to change." Peter turned around and left my room. I smiled and turned to my drawer to get out my clothes.

/-/

"Do you want a donut, Pete?" I asked as I entered the kitchen.

"Of course I do; that's why we're going to Dunkin' Donuts." Peter responded. I grinned at him and ran to the elevator. Peter laughed behind me and followed.

/-/

I slid my Stark Phone into my pocket and sat down on the bench beside Peter. Central Park was pretty busy, but we paid no heed to the people and instead started to talk about our powers. He told me about sneaking into OsCorp and getting bitten by a radioactive spider.

"What about you, Ave?" He asked. I laughed. "My story isn't nearly as interesting as yours, Pete."

"Please?" He begged. I sighed.

_I discovered it when I was twelve, though I suppose I had my powers before. It was just a few weird things at first- like my ability to do acrobatics even though I'd never taken gymnastics, or being able to run fast. _

_ However, it soon became extraordinary hearing and eyesight. One night, I was almost mugged. I scratched the mugger on the cheek, and he yelled and ran away. I looked down at my hands and saw that, instead of fingernails, I had claws. I looked in a shard of a mirror nearby and saw that my irises were golden and my pupils were thin, vertical slits. _

_ I was so scared, but I soon learned how to use my powers to my advantage. I found that my agility helped me fight, though it still took me around four months and many fights to perfect my fighting skills._

_ I made myself a Spandex suit and put cat ears on my mask before I went out to fight. I was named The Cat by the "general population", because of the ears and my agility. They don't know that I'm _Felis _a creature who is half-human and half-cat. I think it's funny, though._

Peter's jaw dropped. "So, you actually are a cat?!" He asked incredulously. I nodded. He sat back. "Wow."

"However, Peter, we have more problems right now. I've been avoiding SHIELD for three years now, but now that you and I fought together, they'll most likely send out a team to find out who we both are- you know, killing two birds with one stone." I said. Peter nodded mutely.

We both sat there in silence for a few minutes, before I stood up. "Let's go back to the Tower. We can surely figure something out."

/-/

"Hey, Avery, I have new couple name for you to make! The Cat and Spiderman fought together last night!" Dad said as we walked into the living room. The news was on, and it showed Peter and me fighting the muggers from last night. The headline said SPIDERMAN AND THE CAT DATING? I almost threw up. Peter was my best friend; I would never have "feelings" for him!

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions, Dad." I reasoned. Dad raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, Peter and I will be, er, working on a science project!" I grabbed Peter's arm and dragged him off to my room.

"Great, this is just great!" I cried as I plopped down on my bed.

"It's not like we're actually dating." Peter pointed out. I sighed. "True."

Peter sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, you know you're like a sister to me. Stop fretting." I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. He was right.

/-/

I sat down at the dinner table across from Uncle Steve. "Where's your boyfriend?" Uncle Clint teased.

"Two things: first, Peter is not my boyfriend, and second, he went home because his Aunt May called him." I said. Uncle Clint rolled his eyes and muttered, "Sure he's not."

"Is anyone else excited about revealing The Cat and Spiderman?" Dad asked. My ears pricked up.

"Tony," Uncle Steve hissed. Dad closed his mouth.

"Oh, alright," Dad sighed. I almost cried out in frustration. What were they talking about? All I knew was that I had to be careful tonight.

/-/

_Stupid Green Goblin, _I thought as I dodged a jack-o-lantern bomb. _Thank goodness Peter told me that they were bombs and not just Green Goblin's candy collector._

"I do not have any candy!" I shouted as he threw another bomb at me. That was Peter's cue to swing in. He landed right behind GG and started to web him. I reached out with my claws and started to scratch him.

_Victory!_

/-/

"Peter, I forgot to tell you that The Avengers are out to find us." I said to him as we started down an alleyway. Peter's head snapped towards me. I nodded and he sighed.

"This is bad," He said. I rolled my eyes.

"No, duh," I responded sarcastically. Then, a sound caught my ears. "Wait, do you hear that?" Peter looked over at me and shook his head. "It sounds like… my Aunt Natasha!"


	4. Chapter Three: Gwen and Uncle Clint

TITANIUM: CHAPTER THREE: AVERY

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Avengers or Spiderman.**

"Is it just your Aunt?" Peter asked. I turned my head and listened again. I shook my head, "No, the other Avengers are with her."

Peter sighed and sat down. "Listen, Pete, let's split up. If we do, we have a better chance of escaping. You web-sling and I'll run for it." I said. Peter looked up at me.

"Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded. He stood up. "See you at school tomorrow, Avery." With that he was swinging through the air on a web. I took a deep breath, turned around, and started running. Everything around me was a blur, but I could still hear The Avengers shouting and chasing me (and Peter).

I ran up to the front of Stark Tower and swiped my ID. The door opened and I ran into the lobby, grabbed my backpack, and pulled on my regular clothes. I ripped off my mask, shoved it in my backpack, and walked to the elevator.

The elevator started up to my floor in the penthouse and I breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as the elevator doors opened I ran into my room and threw on my nightclothes. I shoved my backpack under my bed and sat down on my bed.

"JARVIS, will you please turn on the news?" I asked.

"Of course, Miss Stark," The news came on with a report on The Avengers chasing Peter and I. I saw that Peter had made it without getting caught, and Dad and Uncle Steve were confused and upset.

"Thanks, JARVIS," I said. The news turned off and I lay down to go to sleep.

/-/

I walked into Midtown Science High School, which was still being renovated after the attack of the Lizard. I saw Peter standing at his locker watching the girl he had been telling me about, Gwen Stacy, take her books out.

"You should go talk to her." I said as I walked up beside him and opened my locker. Peter's head snapped towards me. "I mean it, Pete; go talk to Gwen." Peter shook his head and I sighed.

"You're impossible sometimes, you know that?" I grabbed my books and walked up to Gwen. "Hi, I'm Avery." Gwen looked at me, surprised, and then her eyes widened.

"Oh, I know you! You're Avery Stark!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Yeah; you're Gwen Stacy, right?" Gwen nodded. "First… I'm very sorry for your loss." I said. I never lost a parent, but I could imagine how she felt. "Second, I heard that you were an intern at OsCorp."

"Yes, I was," Gwen confirmed.

"Well, um, I'm a friend of Peter's and we always go to the Tower after school. I was wondering if you'd like to join us." I asked. I hoped that I could get Peter and Gwen talking to each other again… but subtly.

"I would love to!" Gwen accepted. However, I could see that she was looking over at Peter as she said it.

"Great! Meet us by my locker after school and someone from my family will pick us up." I said. Then, we parted ways and went to class.

/-/

English class was the last class of the day. I was hoping that it would go quickly and that Uncle Clint wasn't picking us up. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) he was the one who embarrassed me the most out of all my aunts and uncles.

My wish for class to go quickly was not so, however. The bell rang but then Mrs. Stone (our new teacher) said, "Avery, please stay after class." Gwen and Peter looked over at me with worried looks on their faces.

"Yes, Mrs. Stone?" I asked, walking up to her desk. She handed me a stack of papers that were stapled together.

"Avery, your report is amazing. I have been looking back at what your other teachers have said. You are an amazing writer. Most young people your age wouldn't even be able to read _The Divine Comedy_, let alone comprehend it and write a report about it.

"There's an essay competition next month. If you would like, you could submit this essay." Mrs. Stone finished. I bit my lip and looked at the paper.

_Come on, Avery! She said your essay is amazing, and that's what all your other teachers said! Your parents will be so proud of you!_

"I'll do it." I said. Mrs. Stone smiled up at me and took the essay from my hand.

"You may go now."

/-/

"What happened?" Peter asked as soon as I walked up to them.

"She liked my essay and encouraged me to enter it in a competition." I responded.

"That's great, Avery!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Thanks, Gwen." I smiled. I could see why Peter liked Gwen. She was beautiful and super sweet.

We walked out to the front of the school where my Aunt Natasha was sitting in the car. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gwen, do you want to ride shotgun?" I asked. Peter and I always took turns, but since it had been Peter's turn last week I decided to offer it to Gwen.

"Sure, thanks," Gwen said.

"Aunt Nat, this is Gwen. Gwen, this is my Aunt Natasha." I introduced them.

"You can call me Natasha or Tasha." Aunt Natasha usually turned the whole SHIELD assassin thing off in front of my friends. Gwen smiled and Aunt Nat started the car.

"Oh, Avery, your Uncle Clint is out, so you kids may be able to sneak up to your room before he gets there." Aunt Nat assured me. I smiled.

"That's good." I turned to Gwen. "The rest of my 'family' is kind of… odd…." I trailed off.

"She's lying! We're not odd!" I heard a voice say from the back. I turned around to face my Uncle Clint.

"I give up!" I said, burying my face in my hands. Gwen laughed as Uncle Clint rubbed my shoulder.

"It's alright, Avery." He consoled. "She's having girl problems." He stage-whispered to Gwen as he continued to rub my shoulder.

"Aunt Nat, I thought he was out!"

"I thought so, too." It always amazed me how Aunt Nat managed to drive when my crazy family was being… well, crazy.

"I am out!" Uncle Clint cried in protest. "Now, Avery, who is this lovely young lady? Remember, you can tell me anything… even if you're les-" I cut him off my covering his mouth with my hand.

"This is my friend, Gwen." I said crisply.

"I'm really sorry about her, Gwen. She gets rather cranky sometimes." Uncle Clint "apologized" as I uncovered his mouth. Gwen was giggling into her hand, and even Peter was smiling.

"We're here." Aunt Nat finally said. I shot Peter a look that clearly stated 'if you don't get me and Gwen out of here now and spare me further humiliation then I will never speak to you ever again'. Peter understood and opened his door.

"Why don't we go and introduce Gwen to the others, Avery?" Peter suggested, opening his door. I pushed Uncle Clint into the back and jumped out. Gwen got out, too.

"Your Uncle is really funny, Avery." She said.

"I agree; I don't know why Avery always gets embarrassed." Peter mused. I swiped my ID and we stepped inside. I waved to a receptionist as we headed toward the elevator.

"I'm warning you, this thing goes very fast." I warned Gwen. The elevator started up towards the penthouse, and I crossed my fingers that the rest of my family wouldn't embarrass me.

/-/

As we walked into the theater (where my family was) I relaxed slightly, seeing that my Mom and Uncle Steve were there. They somehow always managed to keep the rest of my family under control.

"Hi, everyone; this is Gwen Stacy. Gwen, this is my Uncle Thor, Uncle Steve, Mom, Dad, Uncle Bruce, and Aunt Jane." I introduced.

"Hi," Gwen said sweetly.

"Gwen Stacy why does that sound so familiar?" Dad asked.

"Oh, you're- oh… I'm very sorry for the loss of your father." Mom said. Dad shook his head.

"No, no, that's not it… ah, you're the girl that interned at OsCorp!" Dad realized. Gwen nodded.

"That's right, Mr. Stark." She responded.

"Just call me Tony. In fact, call all of us by our first names. It's kind of a policy for Avery's friends." Dad said. Gwen smiled.

"Are you guys ready to go upstairs?" I asked.

"Sure," Gwen and Peter spoke simultaneously. We walked to the elevator and went up to my floor.

/-/

That night, at approximately midnight, I got out of bed and put on my suit. I crept downstairs to the lobby and walked outside, where I was met by Peter.

"Come on, let's go." I motioned for him to follow me. He did so. As we got to the back of the Tower, I grabbed a jetpack and strapped it on. "Now, you can't get ahead of me." I smirked. I couldn't see his face, but I knew that Peter rolled his eyes.

"Where are we going-" Peter was cut off by a cry for help. He looked over at me before we both took off, him on his webs and me with my jetpack.

/-/

The scene we arrived at was not pretty. Three women were bound to chairs, looking very bloody and bruised. A man was circling them, dressed all in black with a black mask on.

I glanced over at Peter as I pulled out a gun from my belt.

"You know, in the future, if you want to kidnap people, don't dress like a kidnapper, dude." Peter spoke. The man turned to face us.

"Well, well, well; if it isn't Spiderman and The Cat," His voice was deep and sarcastic.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm afraid I don't know your name." Peter responded.

"You'll be dead before you can find out." The man snapped. I rolled my eyes and held up my cocked gun. Peter held up his arm and the man grabbed his own gun. I pulled the trigger at the same time as the man did. I quickly jumped out of the way of his bullet. My bullet went into his arm as Peter shot a line of webbing at him and started to wrap him up.

I circled the man and cocked my gun as Peter finished his job.

"No, don't shoot him. The police are already coming- they'll take care of him." Peter stopped me. I nodded and turned the three women. I pulled out my dagger and started to cut them out.

"Thank you so much!" One of them cried.

"Just doing our job," I said as I freed the last woman.

"Both of you did a great job." Aunt Nat said from behind me. I turned around quickly. "Spiderman, Cat- we need to talk. SHIELD wants to know who you are, and they've sent me out to talk to you. We won't hurt you, but you'll be safer." I looked over at Peter and then at my Aunt again. I then looked up at the ceiling, where there was a hole.

"It seems like an… honor… however, Spiderman and I have other places to be." I said in a British accent. I pushed a button on my jetpack and shot off into the sky. Peter followed and I sighed in relief as Aunt Nat didn't follow us. We were safe… for now.


	5. Chapter 4: Magic and Dates With Wade

TITANIUM: CHAPTER FOUR: AVERY

**Disclaimer: I only own Avery, obviously. **

The next day, I was sitting in science class, trying to understand what our teacher was saying (despite my dad being a science whiz, I was nothing of the sort). I looked up at the clock and then down at my paper and then up at the teacher. I was in the middle of writing down something she said when an explosion shook the building.

"What the heck is that?!" Someone cried as everyone jumped to their feet. I looked over at Peter and Gwen.

"Calm down, everyone, I'm sure it was-" The teacher began, but another explosion cut her off.

"Evacuate the building immediately!" The principal burst into the room before going around to the other classrooms. In the rush of students leaving the school, Peter and I were able to slip away unnoticed. We ran in the direction of the explosion.

"What do you think it was?" Peter shouted as we ran. I shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know?" I said. We opened the door to the library and slowly stepped inside. The librarian was nowhere to be seen (although I was pretty sure I had seen her running off with the other students).

Book cases had fallen over and the library was destroyed. Peter and I picked our way through the rubble.

"What's that?" I asked, noticing a glowing, steaming blue stick in the middle of the floor. I walked closer to it, but Peter grabbed my arm.

"Avery, be careful! It could be dangerous." Peter warned. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"I need everyone to go home now. I've called the police and they're on their way." I heard the principal say.

"Principal Harrington sent the students home." I told Peter.

"Alright; I'm going to go grab some stuff from my house. You stay here and whatever you do, _do not touch the stick_." Peter said. I sighed as he swung out the window. I waited a few minutes, staring at the stick. It was so tempting to grab it and try to pull it out of the ground. Forgetting (disregarding) what Peter had said about touching it, I grabbed the stick and gave it a tug. The stick glowed brighter and lightning started shooting out of it.

_This is why you should listen to Peter! _A voice in my head scolded as I ran frantically to the corner, covering my head and neck with my hands. A few seconds later, three more explosions sounded behind me. I waited a minute before standing up and waving the dust away from my face.

"I got the s- you touched the stick, didn't you?" Peter's face was a mixture of shock and horror. I nodded, coughing. Peter sighed. "Why are you so darn impulsive?"

"I'm sorry, Peter. I was just curious." I apologized. Peter sighed again. "It's alright, Avery. Just suit up and we'll get to work." I nodded and turned around. I pulled my long-sleeved shirt over my head and took off my jeans. I grabbed my mask from my backpack and put it on.

"What is it?" I asked, noticing that Peter had already begun work (carefully) on the stick.

"I don't know. I'm just surprised that it isn't blowing up again." Peter circled around the stick.

"I may have sort of tried to pull it out." I admitted. Peter didn't say anything.

"Avery… I don't think this is scientific… I think this is magical."

/-/

_Magic… magic… blue stick… blue shiny stuff_ flashed through my head as I walked home from school. I swiped my ID and let myself in. As I walked to the elevator, head down, I collided with someone. I fell backwards, dropping my Stark Phone, causing my headphones to fall off.

"I am so sorry!" I said, picking them up.

"No, it's my fault. I should watch where I'm going. You're Avery Stark, right?" I looked up into the most gorgeous brown eyes I had ever seen.

"Um… y-yeah… who are you?" I asked softly. The man smirked, as if he was expecting me to act awkward and said, "I'm Wade Wilson."

/-/

"Hi, Mom," I greeted as I walked into the penthouse. Mom looked up at me from where she was pacing back and forth.

"Oh my goodness, Avery, you're alright!" Mom cried, hugging me tightly. "If something like this ever happens again, you are to come straight home, do you understand?" I nodded and looked at her.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to scare you." I apologized. "I'm going to run up to my room now, okay?" Mom nodded, and I kissed her on the cheek before heading up.

I sighed and sat down on my bed, setting my backpack down beside me. I had so much to think about! Why was the stick there? Who was after us? What would I wear when I went on my date with Wade? The latter question I decided to worry about later. Instead, I took out a notebook and stood up. I had a feeling that Peter was right. The stick was magic. And the only evil person with magic in their possession was Loki.

/-/

"Hi, do you have any newspaper reports on Tony Stark?" I asked the local librarian sweetly. She looked up at me.

"Yes, we do. Right this way." She led me into a room where they kept all the newspaper articles. She showed me where the ones on my dad were and I thanked her and sat down.

_Here goes nothing. _I thought as I took out the first article. PEPPER POTTS AND TONY STARK GET MARRIED was the headline. I rolled my eyes and put it back. I leafed through the articles until I found what I was looking for. The article when Dad talked about Loki.

"He possesses very powerful magic. No one should get involved with him- it could have very harmful results." I read. I went on to read about the blue light that came from Loki's scepter (blue light… sounds like we're onto something) and how he's "as crazy as a bag of cats".

"Peter," I called him on my phone as soon as I left the library. "Peter, I think you may be onto something. Meet me in front of the library."

/-/

"Alright, let me get this straight. The blue stick may belong to Loki and you're going on a date with a man named Wade Wilson?" Peter asked. I nodded.

"Yes. I'm pretty sure that The Avengers are investigating The Blue Stick Incident as we speak. We need to solve it before they do." Peter grabbed my arm.

"Whoa, slow down there Kitty. We need to be careful. Speaking of careful, does your Dad know you're going on a date? Because, if he does, he's probably running a background check of this Wade guy right now."

/-/

"Wade, you're just so funny." I giggled into my hand.

"Thanks. I do try." Wade winked. I felt my heart melt a little more. Wade was just so amazing and so hot!

"Avery Virginia Stark," Oh dear; it was Dad and he was pulling out the full name again. I was in trouble.


	6. Chapter Five: Villain

TITANIUM: CHAPTER FIVE: AVERY

**Disclaimer: No, nope, don't own, never will.**

**A/N: Quick shout-out to my BFFL, Anodyne the Animal. This chapter is dedicated to her.**

The car ride home was completely silent. Dad had proceeded to yell at Wade and I in front of everyone, drag me away from Wade, forbid me from seeing him again, and then tell me to get into the car. We finally arrived at the Tower and Dad stopped the car. However, before I could get out, he said, "What's gotten into you, Avery? First you didn't tell your mother and me about this essay competition, then I find out that you stayed at school after the explosion, and now you went on a date with Deadpool! Do I need to get Natasha to follow you around every day?"

"No, dad; I'm sorry." I said. Dad sighed.

"You're grounded for a week." He said. I groaned and got out of the car, stomping into the Tower angrily. I got into the elevator and went up to my room. As soon as I was up there, I got into my suit.

_Just because Dad said I'm grounded, doesn't mean I can't sneak out. _I thought, smiling. A few years ago, I had figured out which windows to go through so that I wouldn't set any alarms, and JARVIS never actually told on me. (Probably because Peter had managed to tweak something so that if I said "Qwerty", JARVIS froze up.)

I snuck through the house to the window in the training room. "Qwerty," I said and climbed out the window. What I saw outside, however, made me swear aloud. From my perch on the second to top floor of the Tower I could see a glowing blue light from Central Park.

/-/

"Peter," I hissed as I ran up behind him. Peter turned to me and gripped my arm tightly.

"Avery, did you see the light?" He asked lowly. I nodded. He sighed. "Wrap your arms around my waist." He said. I did as he said, though confused. I soon realized what he was doing, however, when he shot a line of web at a building and we took off for the Park.

We landed with barely a noise and looked around us. There was nobody in the Park, but I could see the stick. I grabbed Peter's arm and steered him towards it. Both of us crouched down and examined it.

"Something's going on. It's like it's… preparing for something." Peter said. I groaned and stood up, staring at the sky.

"P-Peter; w-when did those storm clouds a-arrive?" I stuttered. My biggest fear of all time was Severe Weather Phobia. I hated thunder and lighting and the only person who could ever make me feel better about it was Uncle Thor.

"They've been there all night, Avery." Peter said. I gulped and shrieked as thunder cracked through the air. Peter wrapped his arms around me. "Avery, shh, it's okay. It's okay." He murmured. I stared at the sky. "Do you want to go home and just call it a night?" He asked. I squared my shoulders and shook my head.

A maniacal laugh sounded from the bushes and I snapped my head towards the sound. I felt my nails tear through my Spandex gloves and I hissed angrily. I slowly made my way towards the bushes and pulled them apart with my hands. A dark hooded figure was crouched there and I hissed again, advancing towards them. The figure let out another laugh as it started to rain and a bolt of lighting lit up the night.

"Who are you?" I growled. The figure continued to laugh. "I asked you a question, now answer it!" I snapped, running towards it. A lightning bolt separated me from the figure and I gasped. All in that moment, memories flashed before my eyes.

_I remembered, at age twelve, sitting in my room in Malibu, just finishing my lunch from In N Out Burger when I heard something crash downstairs. Assuming it was Dummy or Dad just being clumsy, I walked out of my room and started down the stairs. I covered my mouth with my hand when I saw Ivan, or Whiplash, standing in the living room. I turned and ran back up the stairs as fast as I could (which was pretty darn fast) tears streaming down my cheeks. I ducked under my bed and closed my eyes as I heard footsteps coming closer. My bed smashed in half and I squeaked in fear, looking up at Ivan. He raised his whips…._

_ And I shrieked in terror as I ran into Stark Tower and saw Loki lying battered and bruised on the floor. He looked over at me and I shrieked again, running towards the bar and jumping over it. Loki started to attempt to crawl towards me and I covered my eyes with my hands as he crawled closer and closer…._

_ But a crash disturbed me and my eyes flew open. I sat up in my bed in Stark Tower and looked around anxiously before hopping out of bed. I bumped my desk and my biology book came tumbling down. I kicked it under the bed and muttered, "I hate being a freshman." I crept towards the elevator and got in. Lucky for me, Dad had programmed JARVIS to turn off all noises in the house at night, so the elevator made no noise as I reached the kitchen, where I thought I had heard the crash. My nails sharpened themselves as I saw a man moving around behind the counter. He turned around and grinned at me crazily. I backed into the elevator again, but he walked in at the last minute. "JARVIS, security breach!" I exclaimed, but nothing happened. I hadn't said Qwerty, had I? A gun was soon level to my face and I kicked him in the balls as hard as I could. However, he wrapped his hand around my ankle and-_

"AVERY, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Peter's voice yelled. I gasped and clutched at my chest as I leaned against him, dripping wet.

"P-Peter," I said. He lowered me to the ground gently.

"Avery, are you okay? That guy… he put a spell on you or something and then just vanished." Peter said. He pulled my mask off and rubbed my cheek. I started to relax and then started purring. "What the… Avery, are you legit purring?" Peter asked. I nodded and he rolled his eyes affectionately. "I swear, this half-cat thing is just adorable." He leaned in to give me a hug but (surprisingly) our lips touched *. We both pulled back.

"I am so sorry," Peter gasped. "I didn't mean for that to happen, I know you and Wade are dating and-"

"Pete, calm down. You were scared, I was scared, it's okay. Just chill," I said. He nodded.

"What did that guy do to you anyway?" Peter asked curiously.

"Remember all those times I told you about, like when Whiplash tried to kill me, and then I found Loki in the Tower, and the time when that Dr. What's-His-Face broke into the Tower?" I asked. Peter nodded. "I remembered every time. However, it always ended before Dad could save me or I could save myself." I said. Peter stared at me and then sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I think we have our work cut out for us."

*This is for you, Anodyne the Animal. 3


End file.
